Have you been keeping up with the HDR development bulletin? Each week a different aspect of the Research and Employability Skills Training (REST) Program is spotlighted to help HDR students’ identify opportunities to progress with their skill development. The skills covered so far include Career planning, Thesis writing and Research practice.
See below for what was covered and full details further on. For personalised advice, email HDR.Development@flinders.edu.au and we can help 😊
Skill Spotlight: Being strategic about skill development (10 July 2023)
Your research journey involves juggling a lot of competing priorities, which often means skill development happens in an ad-hoc-way. This ‘as needed’ approach is very normal, but it can mean certain parts of your professional development get deprioritised. However, you are more than your research, and this journey is just a small slice of your life – so it is important to spend at least some of your HDR time progressing your own development to ensure that when you finish your thesis, you will be ready to launch into your next adventure.
Skill Spotlight: Career Planning (17 July 2023)
Career Planning, which can be accessed here on the REST FLO site. Just like the need to engage in regular skill development, career planning is another activity best approached in a consistent and ongoing way.
Skill Spotlight: Thesis Writing (24 July 2023)
Your Higher Degree by Research thesis is the assessable component of your candidature. Yet, the writing part is often pushed to the side with the intent to “get to it later.” If you find it far too easy to put off writing, you may find these past recordings about improving writing productivity helpful. You can also join the writing and writing discussion groups on our HDR Connect MS Team to build in some accountability, whilst also connecting with other HDR candidates.
Skill Spotlight: Research Practice (31 July 2023)
This skill relates to navigating the interplay between policies, procedures and your research environment, as well as personal and professional integrity. Keep reading for a short overview of key policies and some considerations about using AI in Research Environments.
Skill Spotlight: Being strategic about skill development
Monday 10 July 2023
Welcome to the HDR Development Bulletin,
In future weeks, this space will spotlight a particular aspect of 1 of the 22 skills that make up the Research and Employability Skills Training (REST) program for all of you who are too busy to go digging through the REST FLO site. However, as a first edition of the Bulletin, we wanted to remind you of the importance of strategic skill development, as well as the resources available to support you to identify and track your skill development.
Your research journey involves juggling a lot of competing priorities, which often means skill development happens in an ad-hoc-way. This ‘as needed’ approach is very normal, but it can mean certain parts of your professional development get deprioritised. However, you are more than your research, and this journey is just a small slice of your life – so it is important to spend at least some of your HDR time progressing your own development to ensure that when you finish your thesis, you will be ready to launch into your next adventure.
A skills needs analysis is a great place to start – this is why it is one of the Online Induction activities when you commence your HDR journey. However, this analysis should be ongoing throughout your candidature. So…
- If you have not done a skills needs analysis in the past six months, prioritise this on your to-do list!!
- If you have completed a skills needs analysis recently, you are not escaping this call to action. Our question to you is “What skill development progress have you tracked in Inspire in the past month?”
You are constantly developing your skills throughout your candidature, but with long-term projects, it is really easy to forget some of the steps that led you to the outcome. Taking a few moments each month to reflect not only on your research progress and knowledge growth but also on your skill growth, will turn your skill tracking into a bite-size task that will allow you to snack your way through to completing this milestone requirement.
Skill Spotlight: Career Planning
Monday 17 July 2023
This week we are focusing on the skill: Career Planning, which can be accessed here on the REST FLO site.
Just like the need to engage in regular skill development, career planning is another activity best approached in a consistent and ongoing way.
Career planning is multifaceted – consisting of:
- engaging with self-reflection activities to figure out your strengths, weaknesses and preferences about what careers could work for you.
- undertaking professional development activities to make sure you acquire the skills you need.
- working on your personal brand presence so you can stand out in competitive job markets by making it clear how amazing and unique you are!
- participating in networking opportunities so you can build your visibility and establish contacts that will bring you closer to achieving your career goals.
Where to start:
- Our Careers team have some helpful activities and resources that will help you work on each of these areas, including: their Job Hack series; fortnightly drop-in sessions and this HDR-specific resource page.
- The REST FLO site also has a number of tools that will support your career planning activities.
- If you are interested in some external career development resources, especially around personal branding, our HDR Education Advisor, Dr Amy Butler, has personally found the Instagram content and free resources from Badass Careers very useful.
No matter where you are up to in your HDR Journey, now is the perfect time to start working on your career. So pick one thing to do this week – whether it is attending a Careers workshop, updating your CV or expanding your network on Linked In.
Skill Spotlight: Thesis Writing
Monday 24 July 2023
This week we are tackling the topic: thesis writing. Resources associated with this skill can be accessed here on the REST FLO site.
Your Higher Degree by Research thesis is the assessable component of your candidature. Yet, the writing part is often pushed to the side with the intent to “get to it later.” If you find it far too easy to put off writing, you may find these past recordings about improving writing productivity helpful. You can also join the writing and writing discussion groups on our HDR Connect MS Team to build in some accountability, whilst also connecting with other HDR candidates.
Your Higher Degree by Research thesis is more than likely the biggest piece of sustained argumentative writing that you will ever produce. This means you need to identify the connections across and between the different parts of your research so you can create a cohesive and continuous story. This synthesis is a key expectation of all Higher Degree by Research degrees.
When creating your research story, you also need to be mindful of meeting and managing the expectations of your examiners. A lot of this can be achieved through your narrative, but there are also criteria set by the University. So, what is a Flinders Higher Degree by Research thesis expected to look like?
The Flinders Higher Degree by Research Thesis Rules specify the length, general structure and content of your HDR thesis. Your examiners assess your thesis against these rules, so we recommend working through these resources on structuring your thesis, as well as these examination resources so you will be prepared to meet these expectations. Beyond these policy-based rules, you should also consider disciplinary expectations. The rest is up to you – it is your original work, so let you shine through!
Skill Spotlight: Research Practice
Monday 31 July 2023
This week we are focussing on Research Practice. This skill relates to navigating the interplay between policies, procedures and your research environment, as well as personal and professional integrity. Keep reading for a short overview of key policies and some considerations about using AI in Research Environments.
What policies and procedures should the HDR community be aware of:
The Flinders Policy Library contains all University-wide policies, procedures and guidelines.
- HDR candidates are governed by both the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures as well as the Research Integrity Policy and Procedures.
- There are also policies and procedures applicable to Higher Degree by Research candidacy. To find these, you will need to look in the Policy Library under Academic and Students > Higher degrees by research.
- Work Health and Safety Policies and Procedures relevant to your research context. For example, if your research involves any activity off campus at an urban, rural, remote, freshwater or marine location then you should undertake the online Fieldtrip training as part of developing your understanding about the Fieldtrip policies and procedures.
Where does Artificial Intelligence (AI) fit into the HDR policy context?
We are keen to discuss the Flinders AI position with you, but Higher Degree by Research students fit in a challenging policy space in that they are governed by both Academic Policies and Research Policies at the University. This means before guidelines on acceptable AI use can be created for the HDR context, the University’s position on AI for both Academic Integrity and Research Integrity needs to be established. We will share these with the research community when available.
Explore this recent addition to the REST Research Practice Resource page for the information and advice we have so far. Further considerations for using AI in the Higher Degree by Research context will be covered in an upcoming bulletin.
The library has also developed some evolving resources that you can use to start to familiarise yourself with AI.
What might using AI tools in research look like?
The Library has developed a new webpage, Using AI tools in Research, which provides researchers with an overview of assessing the suitability of AI tools. You’ll also find essential information on ethics, privacy, and intellectual property. This new resource is just our first step in understanding the possible uses of AI and the potential benefits and risks of these tools for research. If you’d like to learn more, there will also be a guest speaker, Julian Ridden, presenting Introduction to AI: Your first steps down the rabbit hole of these new digital disruptive technologies. Monday 14th August, 11am – 12.30pm in the Education building. Register via iEnrol.